Lettuce Go to Space

Lettuce, so nice to see you again. The funky jam band super group have released their latest album, Crush. It’s predictably funky and fun- it’s a lot of fun. 98% instrumental, 100% killer. There’s doses of the future sprinkled in with their traditional funk tendencies. Drummer Adam Deitch continues to be the motor powering the band. His beats are fresh and lively, never too much and certainly never too little. Yet it’s the music around those beats that seem to be the biggest change for the band. They seem to have gone to space, but have done so with the chillest of intentions.

Of course the uptempo funk jams are still there, notably a tune like “Pocket Change.” That song is the Lettuce you’ve known for almost twenty years now. It’s a tune like “Phyllis” where you might find yourself wondering who are these dudes. Hey, it’s Lettuce, a hip collective of dudes from bands like Soulive, Break Science and Rustic Overtones. Lettuce has always seemed like traditionalists to me- students of funk, practitioners of the groove. So I suppose it makes sense that on their fourth album, their first since 2012’s Fly, they would be entering the “interpret and apply” stage of their studies.

And while I’d love to expound more on the greatness of Crush and extoll the energy and enthusiasm that is scorching at abundantly high levels on the album, I’d rather just sum up my thoughts on the album with these gifs from the past couple Republican debates, which you can enjoy while listening to Crush because it’s weird, at times, they kind of synch up.

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Published by Ryan O'Connell

Ryan harbors a constant fear of losing his keys, prefers flip flops and will always choose cereal if given the choice. He maintains his own blog, Giddy Up America, as well as co-hosts the podcast Differing Opinions on Drake. Ryan is on Twitter: @ryanoconnell79
View all posts by Ryan O'Connell